Hat holder for automobiles



July 1957 H. H. KLAPPERT ETAL HAT HOLDER FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed Oct. 8, 1954 y-Akuw'nlaan.

2,798,615 Patented July 9, 1957 iiice HAT HQLDER FQR AUTOMGBILES Herman H. Klappert and Marie P. Klappert, St. Albans, N. Y.

Application October 8, 1954, Serial No. 461,252

3 Claims. (Cl. 211--31) This invention relates to hat holders, and more particularly to a hat holder that is especially designed for use upon the upholstered tops of automobiles.

The desirability of a hat holder, that will support a hat without damage thereto in an out-of-the-way position in an automobile, is readily appreciated among those using such vehicles. If one desires to remove his hat in an automobile, it must be placed upon the vehicle seat, or alternatively, upon the rear ledge. Both of these locations are unsatisfactory, the vehicle seat because the hat takes up seating space or may be accidentally sat upon, and the rear ledge because such ledge tends to become dusty over a period of time and may soil the hat.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a hat holder that will be so designed as to be mountable upon the vehicle top, at a location where it will be conveniently accessible to users of the vehicle. In this regard, a vehicle top in the greatest number of automobiles is upholstered, thereby rendering diflicult the mounting of a hat holder thereon.

An object of the invention, in view of the difi'iculties which have heretofore existed, is to provide means on a hat holder that will be switftly connectable in proper position to the upholstery of the vehicle top, without damaging the upholstery.

Another object of importance is to provide a hat holder as described that will be capable of manufacture at relatively low cost, and will be usuable in all vehicles without necessity of modification or redesign of the holder for different types or makes of vehicles.

Yet another object is to so design the hat holder as to cause the same to support a hat without damage in any way to the hat. This is of particular importance in view of the Wide spread use of fedora hats, the brims of which are subject to being bent out of shape rendering the same unsightly. In the invention, the hat is supported at its brim in such a way as to keep the brim perfectly flat against the upholstered top of the vehicle.

Yet another object is to provide a hat holder which will be adapted to receive hats of different types, as for example, homburgs, snap brim hats, etc. This is of importance in view of the fact that a homburg has an upturned outer edge on the brim, which upturned edge should not be crushed. A hat holder according to the present invention, when used to support a snap brim, properly supports this type of hat. At the same time, the hat holder is so designed as not to contact the turned edge of a homburg should this type of bat be supported.

Yet another object of the invention is to so design the hat holder as to incorporate in the same a pair of like, separate components, capable of being mounted against the upholstered top of the vehicle a selected distance apart, so as to accommodate the same to a hat of the particular size worn by the user of the vehicle.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the inside of an automobile, a hat holder formed in accordance with the present invention being shown as it appears when seen from below While supporting a hat;

Figure 2 is a longtiudinal sectional view through one of the components of the holder, a hat being shown in dotted outline:

Figure 3 is an enlarged, inverted perspective view of the hat holder, the elastic band portion thereof being shown in dotted outline; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through one end of one of the hat holder components, the scale being still further enlarged, showing the upholstery engaging clip.

The reference numeral 10 has been applied generally to a conventional automobile, having the usual upholstered top 12.

The hat holder constituting the present invention has been designated generally at 14, and includes a pair of identically formed and assembled hat support members. Since these are identical, only one will be described.

Each hat support member includes a frame formed from a single piece of relatively rigid material, such as metal, plastic, or the like. It should be noted, in this regard, that the particular material used is not critical so long as it has the requisite strength, lightness, and comparative rigidity.

In any event, the frame includes an elongated piece or strip of material formed with a straight, flat, long bight portion 16 integral at its opposite ends with depending, relatively short legs or extensions 18. The extensions 18 preferably are formed with side edges that diverge in a direction away from the end of each extension that is connected to the bight 16, and at the wider, free, lower end of each extension there is formed a transversely extending slot 20.

An elongated elastic band 22 is extended through the slots 20 of the frame, the ends of said band projecting a substantial distance beyond the opposite ends of the bight portion 16. The elastic band 22 can be formed of any suitable material, so long as said band is possessed of a certain amount of resiliency.

At its outer ends, the elastic band 22 is, in the illustrated example, looped as at 24 and folded upon itself to connect the same to a clip 26. Each of the two clips 26 used for each hat support member is formed from a single piece of relatively thin but strong wire material shaped to include a transversely extending bight portion 28 that extends through the loop 24 of the adjacent end of the band 22. At its opposite ends, the bight 23 merges into inwardly extended portions 30 that are disposed in substantial parallelism with the bight 28. The portions 3i) are relatively short, and at their inner ends merge into short connecting portions 32. The portions 32 extend from the portions 30 in a direction away from the bight 2i and merge into elongated legs or prongs 34. The prongs 34, like the connecting portions 32, are extended perpendicularly to the length of the bight 28, that is, longitudinally of the band 22, the prongs 34 being disposed at acute angles to the connecting portions 32 and being extended in a return direction so as to pass over the bight 28.

By reason of this arrangement, the prongs 34 extend toward one another longitudinally of the band 22, and it will be seen that each of the hat support members can be readily attached to the upholstered top 12 of the vehicle, by engaging the prongs 34 of each clip in said upholstered top, at spaced locations. This: places the band 22 under tension, causing said band to exert pressure against the frame tending to force the frame against the vehicle top. At the same time, considerably more resiliency remains in the band 22, so that the frame can be pulled downwardly from the vehicle top.

Paired hat support members are mounted upon the vehicle top in spaced, parallel relation as shown in Figure 1, the members being disposed a selected distance apart according to the size or type of bat most generally used. When a hat is to be placed in supported position, one end of the brim of the hat H is interposed between the bight 16 of one frame and the vehicle top, and the other end of the hat brim is similarly disposed between the bight of the other hat support member and the vehicle top. The bight portions 16 thus exert pressure upwardly against the hat brim, at locations inwardly from the edge of the brim, tending to hold the hat brim against the top, with the hat supported in inverted position between the hat support members.

It is important to note that the frame is so designed as to cause the midlength portion of the band 22 to be spaced outwardly from the upholstered top of the vehicle, and as a result, if a hat such as a homburg is supported, the turned brim edge thereof will not be bent or deformed by the band 22, since said band will be fully out of contact therewith or will be pressed thereagainst only lightly.

In the illustrated example, the folded over end portions of the band 22 are adhesively secured. However, the ends of the band can be connected to the clips in any suitable manner, such as by stapling, riveting, or sewing.

A hat when supported in the manner shown is disposed in an out-of-the-way position, so that it will not interfere with persons entering or leaving the vehicle. Further, no damage is done to the hat, and the hat is conveniently located where it can be reached with ease. Still further, the hat holder does not damage the upholstery top, since the small openings formed in said top by the prongs 34 are not noticeable except on close inspection when the hat holder is removed.

Still further, the hat holder can be mounted at any location upon the vehicle top, and a number of said holders could, of course, be provided in the same vehicle.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A hat holder for mounting against the upholstered top of an automobile comprising a pair of like hat support members each of which includes a frame of inverted U-shape having a bight adapted to engage against a hat brim to hold the same against said top, and legs depending from opposite ends of the bight, said legs having openings formed therein, an elastic band having its midlength portion passed through the openings, the opposite ends of the band projecting beyond the opposite ends of said frame, and clip means on the ends of the band adapted to engage in said upholstered top.

2. A hat holder for mounting upon the upholstered top of an automobile comprising a pair of like hat support members each including a relatively elongated frame formed to an inverted U-shape, each frame including an elongated bight adapted to engage against the brim of a hat to hold the same against a vehicle top and legs depending from opposite ends of the bight, said legs having "ansverse slots formed therein at those ends of the legs remote from the bight, an elastic band having its midlength portion extending through the slots, whereby to space said midlength portion of the band from the upholstered top, and clip means on the opposite ends of said band adapted to engage in said top.

3. A hat holder for mounting against the upholstered top of an autobobile comprising a pair of like hat support members each of which includes a frame of inverted U-shape having a bight adapted to engage against a hat brim to hold the same against said top, and legs depending from opposite ends of the bight, said legs having openings formed therein, an elastic band having its midlength portion passed through the openings, the opposite ends of the band projecting beyond the opposite ends of said frame, and clip means on the ends of the band adapted to engage in said upholstered top, the bight of each frame extending in a straight line paralleling the midlength portion of said elastic band, and having a flat, wide brim-engaging surface, whereby to hold said bight against tiltable movement about an axis extending longitudinally thereof to in turn dispose said legs in positions to maintain the ends of the band out of engagement with the brim of the hat.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 603,544 Wagenblast May 3, 1898 1,379,605 Allen May 31, 1921 1,511,864 Altmyer Oct. 14, 1924 1,533,403 Goldberg Apr. 14, 1925 

